Her Fate In My Hands
by Complete Sylence
Summary: kabuto gives orochimaru info on everyone in the chunin exam, but when he meets aiko can he really give her information to orochimaru? keeping her away from orochimaru will be an issue. kabutoOC please r and r!
1. Chapter 1

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: hello! Me again! Another fic for your enjoyment! Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't NOT own the characters of Naruto, but I DO own Aiko, Kuro, and Rai.**

**Chapter 1: The Exam Starts**

The room was filled with ninja as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stood there paralyzed. Ninjas from the leaf, sound, rain, and other villages stared them down since they were the youngest ninja there.

"This sucks," Naruto said to himself. Sasuke stood there with his hands in his pockets and Sakura lightly hit Naruto in the side after hearing his comment.

"Try and be as quiet as possible," Sakura said to Naruto. "They are at a higher level than we are and could kick our butts if they wanted to." Sakura then fell into a fit of rage when she saw Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji walked over to them.

"Sasuke!" Ino said. She placed her arms around his neck as she stood behind him. "It is sooooo mice to see you again! Did you miss me?"

"Miss you! Miss YOU!" Sakura shouted. "He has been have to much of a good time bring around me!"

"Yeah, right!" Ino shouted. Ino and Sakura continued to argue as Sasuke stood there trying to drain out their yelling. All he had on his mind was Gaara and Lee.

"Ino, will you just shut up," Shikamaru said with a smug look on his face. Ino stuck her tongue out at him and smiled at Sasuke.

"I see that the six rookies are here."

"Hmm?" they all turned to see a man with silver hair and glasses standing a few feet away from them. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kabuto," he said. "I should warn you not to be like this around these ninjas. They are not very understanding of younger ninjas. I've seen it plenty of times."

"How many time have you taken the exam?" Sakura asked.

"Well, this is my seventh time," he said scratching the back of his head.

"This exam must be pretty hard then, huh?" Sakura said.

"Just great!" Naruto said.

"But over the past three tries I have gotten info on other ninjas here," Kabuto said. "With these." He held up a deck of cards. They all were a little confused about the cards and how he knew about everyone by using them. He held one of the cards up and it was blank.

"You won't learn anything from a blank card," Shikamaru said. Kabuto smiled and slightly laughed.

"Your right, but. . ." he knelt down and placed the card on the floor. "But using some of my chakra I can see all I need to know about my adversaries." The card spun and then stopped to reveal a card that showed the info for a ninja from the sound village. The info disappeared and Kabuto out it back in the deck.

"Wait," Sasuke said. "You can get information on anyone?"

"Yeah," Kabuto said.

"Do you have information on Gaara and Rock Lee?" Sasuke asked. Kabuto nodded and drew two cards from the deck.

"I'll start with Rock Lee," Kabuto said.

A team from the Hidden Rain Village watched Kabuto talk to the rookies.

"That's the one I was talking about," Kuro said. Kuro had short brown hair and blue eyes. His bangs cover his left eye and he wears his headband around his neck. He wore long jean shorts that are ripped at the bottom, a black t-shirt, and his weapon is a broadsword (like Zabuza's sword) which he held on his back. "There he is, the last survivor, Sasuke Uchiha."

"He doesn't look very strong," Rai said. Rai had short grayish-silver hair and gray eyes. He wore his headband around his forehead. He wore long black pants, a blue muscle shirt, chain bracelets, and his weapon is a Needle Umbrella (looks like a modern umbrella, but when spun quickly it shoots needles).

"Don't underestimate your adversaries," Aiko said. She had long dark greenish-blue hair and light blue eyes. She wore a white vest that was zipped up into a v-neck and it had blue lining. Her jeans were very baggy from the knees down and were ripped on the knees, shins, and had a few large tears on the thighs. Her weapon is a giant fan with four blue circles on it.

"He is a rookie," Kuro said. "I guess there is nothing to worry about."

"Kabuto! Are you okay?" Sakura asked. Kabuto was on his knees and his glasses were on the floor broken in half. Aiko used her jutsu and transported. She appeared right in front of Kabuto.

"Hey," said the ninja from the sound village. "Get out of my way."

"Leave the fighting for the exam," Aiko said.

"Hey, you, from the sound village," called a instructor. "You are not to be fighting before the exam."

"Looks like we are a little restless," said the guys teammate. The ninjas from the sound village walked away and Aiko knelt down to Kabuto.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He coughed and nodded his head. "It's okay. Those guys are jerks." Kabuto rose to his feet and looked at Aiko. Since his glasses were broken he would have a little bit of trouble, but not a lot.

"Thank you," he said.

"Everyone," said the head instructor. "Eyes forward. Now you will all hand in your forms and in return you will all get a number. That number will determine where you sit. Now come and hand in your forms."

"See ya, Kabuto," Naruto said as he walked up with the other rookies.

"By the way, my name is Kabuto," he said. "And yours?"

"Aiko," she said with a smile. He walked away and headed to the front of the room. She was about to meet up with Rai and Kuro when she noticed Kabuto's glasses on the floor. She bent down and picked them up. "I guess, if I finish the test early, I can fix these and give them back to Kabuto."

"Aiko, come on!" Rai shouted. "We don't have all day!"

"Coming!" she placed the glasses in her pocket and ran up to Rai and Kuro to get their numbers.

**Hi! Naruto here and it seems like that in the next chapter we have to- what! A written test! Oh, man! Sasuke and Sakura are going to kill me! It seems like Aiko and her teammates have a few idea on how to give each other the answers and are really good at not getting caught! Is that Aiko giving Kabuto answers! What won't she help me too! **

**Next chapter: Cheat or Fail **


	2. Chapter 2: cheat or fail

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: hello! Chapter 2 is up so please review and most off all: ENJOY!**

**Khazia- **I am glad that you like the story! A larger description of Aiko, huh? I'll give a better description of her a little later on for you! Yes, I like her name as well as you. Have some cookies!

**queen of pie- **should I be scared of you? Your review was very funny and very weird at the same time. LOL! Have some cookies!

**Chapter 2: Cheat of Fail**

Aiko was sitting one seat away from Kabuto and Rai and Kuro were in the very back of the room. The test began and she looked down at her paper.

"_Okay, if ninja A is in the tree and throws a kunai knife at ninja B, give the amount of jutsu it would take to enhance the hit at points C, D, and E. Explain how you got your answers for all the points," _Aiko thought. _"Ugh. This sucks."_

Rai sat in his seat and looked around the room from the corners of his eye. He found Aiko and grinned.

"_I know that this might take her a few minutes to figure out questions one and two, but I can do my best on getting three and four done," _Rai thought. _"When she gives the signal I'll get the answers."_

Naruto was flipping out in his seat and Aiko raised a brow when she saw the boy sweating. She knew that he was nervous since he was probably not ready for this. He was younger than the other ninja in the room except for the other rookies.

"_Hmm," _Kabuto thought. _"This is harder than last time, but only a little. This shouldn't be a huge problem. I wonder. . . .how Aiko is doing." _He looked over at her and she was almost done with the second problem. When she was done she tapped her pencil on the desk twice and Rai grinned.

"_About time,"_ he thought. He used his jutsu (it's like ino's jutsu that she used on sakura to get her answers) and entered Aiko's body. _"Okay. . . . . .these are better answers than what I would have thought of." _He memorized her answers and wrote the answers to three and four on her paper. He tapped her pencil twice and once he left her body Kuro entered hers and Rai entered his and Aiko went to Rai's body.

"_It seems like they had a plan from the start," _Kabuto thought. _"They will use their jutsu to enter each other's bodies and write the answers down on each others papers. Then they will be done before most of the others have started. Good plan if I may say so."_

Aiko, Kuro, and Rai returned to their own bodies and they all looked at their papers. They had all the answers for all the questions except for number ten.

Aiko placed her paper down and looked at Naruto again. His paper was blank.

"_Poor kid," _she thought. _"He should try and get help from his teammates if they are willing to help him." _She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes for a moment. She looked over at Kabuto and saw that he only had the first three answers. She frowned. _"This is the only way I can give you answers Kabuto."_ She concentrated her jutsu on Kabuto.

"_What the hell is she doing?" _Kuro thought.

"_Okay this is harder than I-!" _he couldn't finish his though because some else took over.

"_I know you weren't prepared for that," _she thought. _"But this is the only way I can help you." _She wrote the answers down and left his body and went back to hers.

"_She helped another ninja?" _Rai said. _"What is her deal!"_

Kabuto looked around and noticed that he was back to normal. He looked over and Aiko who was looking down at her lap. He looked down at his paper and he had all the answers.

"_Wha-?" _he thought. He looked at the bottom of his paper and there was a note. It said;

**Kabuto,**

**You can thank me later for this.**

**Aiko**

He looked over at her again and she smiled a small smiled at him. He smiled back and looked at his paper again. There was just about ten minutes left before the tenth question and he was ready for it.

"_What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do?" _Naruto thought. _"Sasuke and Sakura are going to kill me if I screw this up! Oh, this not good at all! I hate written tests! I bet Sasuke and Sakura already have the first nine answers!"_

"Pencils down," said Ibiki. All the students placed their pencils down and he stood in the front of the class. Naruto was still freaking out a little and Rai and Kuro wanted to yell at Aiko for giving Kabuto answers.

"_Well, here it is," _Sakura thought. _"The tenth question!"_

"Now there are rules for the tenth question," Ibiki stated. "Those who do not want to take the tenth question may leave and try again next year. The thing is that if you answer the tenth question wrong you lose all of your points and you cannot enter the exam again."

"What!" Sakura shouted. "That's not fair!"

"This isn't good," Rai said. "We were not prepared for this type of question. Aiko, Kuro, and I will completely different answers!"

"Not good, not good, not good, not good, not good, not good, not good, not good, not good, not good, not good, not good, not good. . . . ." Naruto kept telling himself.

"We're screwed," Sasuke said to himself. "Naruto will have us lose all of our points and then we're out of here."

"Damn," Aiko said. "This will lead to our demise. It would be best if Rai, Kuro, or myself just got us out of this mess."

"I'm out," said a boy. He stood up with his hand still in the air. "Sorry guys."

"Number 21, 56, and 78, you all fail," said an instructor. The three teammates walked out of the room with their heads down.

"I'm out," said another boy.

"Me too," said another. Aiko looked at all the hands that were going up and she was about to raise hers.

"_Sorry Rai, sorry Kuro," _she thought. She was about to raise her hand above her head when Kabuto shook his head at her. "What?" she whispered.

"Stay here," he said. "Stay here in the exam. Don't give up because of one question on a written test."

"What is he doing to Aiko?" Rai asked himself. "He is always getting in the way. This is probably a way to get our answers, befriend her, kill her, and then kill us. That jerk. . . . .wha-?" he saw Aiko out her hands in her lap and she smiled at Kabuto who smiled back.

"Numbers, 67, 89, 1, 5, 55, and 34, you all fail," said another instructor. More and more hands started to go up and more and more students started to leave.

"This sucks," Kuro said.

"_Come on, Naruto," _Sakura thought. _"It's okay. We can try again next year. Just raise your hand, Naruto. Raise your hand." _Naruto's hand started to go up and Sakura smiled. His hand was shaking and Hinata sighed, thinking that Naruto was going to give up. Naruto then slammed his hand on the table and shouted,

"I WILL NOT GIVE UP! BELIEVE IT!"

"_NARUTO! YOU IDIOT!" _Sakura thought. Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair.

"I won't give up either!"

"Yeah, me neither!" The young ninjas started to rejoice after Naruto's little outburst. Ibiki looked around the room at all the left over students and grinned.

"Is this your final answer?" he asked the class. Everyone was silent and few nodded their heads. "Well then, you all **pass**!" Everyone's eyes were wide and they started to question this.

"What!" Kiba shouted as he stood. "We all pass! But. . .what was the tenth question!"

"There is no tenth question," Ibiki said. Kiba sat down and Ibiki walked to the other side of the room. "The tenth question was to see if you were ready for the rest of the exam and the ones who stayed proceeded and those who left must try again next year."

"Then what were the other nine questions for?" asked Temari. "They were just a waste of time?"

"No, they had a role in this," he said. "They were to see how well you could gather information when you needed it most and those who were caught were penalized. Most of you in here were not caught at all."

"Oh," Temari said. "I guess that makes sense."

Naruto smiled as did Hinata. They were going to the next part of the exam! They then saw a black thing coming towards the window and the window shattered.

"What the hell!" Kuro and Rai shouted.

A huge sign appeared and a woman stood before the class.

"My name is Anko and I am the instructor for the second part of this exam!"

"Your early. . .again," Ibiki said. Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. She looked around the room at the shocked ninja and then looked at Ibiki.

"You let all of these people pass?" she asked him. "You are starting to get soft and your tests are no longer hard."

"Maybe this is a different batch of ninja," he said.

"We'll see," Anko said. "Listen up! The second part of the exam will start tomorrow at noon! I will tell your sensei's where to tell you to meet me. Dismissed!" She turned to talk to Ibiki.

Aiko walked over to Kabuto and he faced her with a simple smile. She smiled back.

"Uh, thanks for the help," he said.

"It was no problem," she said. "Oh, here." She handed him his glasses which were now just as they were before they were broken.

"How did you fix these?" he asked.

"It wasn't very hard," she said.

"Aiko! Come on!" Rai shouted. Aiko faced Rai and waved.

"I have to go," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and ran over to Rai and Kuro who were still a little mad at her.

"See ya. . . . ." Kabuto said. He put his glasses on and met up with his teammates.

"What where you thinking, Aiko?" Kuro asked. "You should not be helping a enemy ninja in the exam!"

"Calm down, Kuro," Aiko said. "He is really kind and he seems like he could be a good friend."

"We'll see," Rai said. "People change in the exams, Aiko. Sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worst."

**Hello, Aiko here and it seems like my team is in a little bit of trouble tonight. Won't those jerks from the sound village leave us alone? **

**Next chapter: Midnight Sounds**


	3. Chapter 3: midnight sounds

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: hello everyone! I am here once again with another chappie! It seems liked Kabuto is starting to like Aiko! Yay! Onward with the chapter!**

**Chapter 3: Midnight Sounds**

Rai, Kuro, and Aiko, like many of the ninjas, rented rooms at a local hotel that was near the next area for the exam. Kuro and Rai would be sharing a room and Aiko would have her own room. Kuro, Rai, and Aiko sat at the bar and ordered some sushi. Kuro took a sip of his drink and slammed it on the counter.

"Aiko, how could you be so stupid!" he shouted. "Trusting those on other teams is NOT smart! It's dumb!" Rai patted his friend on the back and Aiko turned her head so she didn't have to face her fuming friend.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Aiko said. "I find him to be a nice, kind, caring person and there is nothing you can do to change my mind, Kuro."

"Wait until I kill him," Kuro said. "Then your thoughts of him won't change – they'll vanish."

"Kuro!" Rai said. "Now that's going a little to far! Killing Kabuto is no way to treat him after he has been so nice to Aiko! Only if you have to kill him than you may, but other than that you have no right!"

"Something about him just seems off," Kuro said. "Aiko, I won't allow you to. . .see him again. I don't want to see you with him, talking to him, being near him, nothing of the sort."

"What?" Aiko said as she stood from her seat. "This is not fair, Kuro! How can you think that of Kabuto! I can't believe you! Instead of treating me like a friend you are treating me like a child!" She started to tear and went back to her room. Rai frowned and looked at Kuro.

"Kuro, I know how you feel about her. . ." Rai said. "Kabuto is just . . .another **obstacle** right?"

". . .Right. . ." Kuro said. Rai sighed again and looked in the direction Aiko went.

"You know how emotional she is, Kuro," Rai said as he looked back at his friend. "She won't forgive you unless you accept her friendship with Kabuto."

"That won't happen anytime soon," Kuro said. "The best ninja, is his case, is a **dead** ninja."

- - - - -

Aiko sat on the edge of her bed and wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"That arrogant, insensitive. . . ." she said to herself. She laid on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. "Why am I here? I'm not as strong as Kuro and Rai, my feelings get in the way. . . .This is no place for me."

"Okay," she heard a male say outside her door. "I'll see you tomorrow then, right?"

"Yup," said another male. His voice was very familiar. "Remember, we have to keep our guard up tonight. There are many other ninja here and who knows. One of them might get a little bloodthirsty over night."

"Right," said the first male. "Well, good night, Kabuto!"

"Good night!" Kabuto said. Aiko sat up on her bed, got up, walked over to the door, opened it, and saw Kabuto walk into his room which was next door to her on the left (Rai and Kuro are to her right). She closed her door once she saw Rai and Kuro turn the corner. She leaned against her door and heard Kuro and Rai talking about her.

"Kuro, you don't mean that do you?"

"Rai, she is the weakest on our team," Kuro said. "She may be close to our power, but when it comes to emotions she is too weak."

"Kuro, she can't help it."

She walked over to her bed and laid there. Was Kuro right? Is he. . . ?

- - - -

Dosu, Zaku, and Kin (the ninjas from the sound village) stood in front of the large inn and Dosu smiled. The others looked at him.

"Are you sure that she is here?" asked Zaku. "The one that stopped you from finishing off Kabuto at the beginning of the exam?"

"I'm sure," Dosu said as they started to walk up to the dark inn. "She will pay for interfering. No one stops us from finishing off a weak, useless ninja. Not even one of the rain village." Zaku and Kin followed Dosu into the inn. They used their jutsu to get into the inn without making any noise. They ended up on the first floor, but Kin ended up in the office so she could find out what room Aiko was in. Kin came back to Dosu and Zaku.

"She is in room 102," Kin said. "That's on the next floor." They used their jutsu again and ended up on the second floor, a few doors down from Aiko's room. Dosu quietly opened the door and Zaku and Kin stood outside the door just incase someone was around. He closed the door and walked closer to Aiko. Aiko was laying on her back with her pillow on the floor. She had changed into a tang top and shorts to sleep. Dosu put his hand over her mouth as her eyes shot open. He pulled out a kunai knife and held it up to her neck.

"No one stops me from killing another," he said. "You got that?" She grabbed his hands and tried to use her jutsu, but he dropped the knife, jumped onto the bed, sat on her, and held her arms down.

"You asshole!" she shouted.

"If you stand still I'll make it quick and painless," he said. "Plus I won't have to bloody up that cute face of yours." She kicked him to the stomach and threw him against the wall.

Kabuto sat up in his bed and put his glasses on. He put his hair up into his normal hair style and got out of bed. He walked over to his door and started to turn the knob.

"What is going on next door?" he asked himself. He opened the door and closed it behind him. He looked to his right and saw Zaku and Kin. "What are you two doing here?"

"Get him," Kin said. The two ninja leaped into the air and Kabuto jumped back when they came down with an attack.

"_Their leader must be in the next room meaning someone is in danger!" _Kabuto thought. Kin came towards him and he grabbed the back of Kin's head and pushed Kin onto the floor. He hit Zaku out of the way before he landed from his second leap. Zaku hit the wall and ran over to Kin to help her up. Kabuto threw the door open and saw Aiko pinned against the wall. She had a cut on her left cheek and she was struggling to kick Dosu. "Wha-!"

"You!" Dosu shouted. "I was going to kill you later, but I guess I can kill you both at the same time!"

"Kabuto, go!" Aiko shouted. Dosu held the knife closer to her neck and she closed her eyes as the cold blade touched her skin slightly. Kabuto ran up to him and Dosu tried to dodge, but to do so he would have to let go of Aiko. He jumped out of the way as Kabuto's back kick hit the wall on the other side of Aiko. Zaku and Kin ran up to the doorframe.

"Come on!" Kin shouted. "We have to get out of here! Other ninja have just woken up! You can kill them later on in the exam!" Dosu, Kin, and Zaku used their jutsu to get out of the building, but Dosu said before he left,

"See you both later on." Kabuto looked at Aiko and smiled. She tried to smile, but her cheek hurt to much for her to do so.

"Well, you certainly got yourself into trouble," he said.

"Y-Yeah," she said. "I guess I did. . . ." The blood from her cheek ran down her neck and onto her tank top. She put her hand on her cheek and Kabuto looked at her.

"Here," he said. She lowered her hand and he placed his hand on her cheek. His hand glowed a light green (he's using a medical jutsu). Then the door flew open and Kuro and Rai walked into the room.

"What is going on here!" Kuro shouted. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, KABUTO!" Kabuto took his hand off of Aiko's cheek. Since he didn't finish healing her wound it didn't heal at all and was still bleeding.

"Oh, well. . . .I, uh. . .you see. . ." Kabuto said.

"Aiko, did he hurt you?" Kuro asked. She was about to answer when Kuro interrupted her. "Kabuto, get out. I don't want to see you near Aiko ever again! Got it? Now, get out!" Kabuto looked at Aiko and she sighed. He walked out of her room and he closed the door behind him.

"Like said at dinner; I don't you seeing him too," Kuro said.

"Come on, Kuro, let's go to bed," Rai asked. "Let Aiko rest."

"I don't want to see you around him again, Aiko."

"Kuro. . .he didn't-!" Kuro slammed the door behind him as he and Rai left.

She sat on her bed and took a deep breath. Kuro had treated her like a child and treated Kabuto like he was a criminal. Aiko closed her eyes and tried her bed to fall asleep again. She really wished she was back home.

**A/N; hello! Well, Kuro is a jerk, Rai doesn't do anything about it, and Aiko is wondering if she should go through the exam or not. In the next chapter:**

**Kuro and Rai are talking about Aiko's emotions again and she is tired of them being on her case all the time. When she, Rai and Kuro split up will she end her own life to save Rai's and Kuro's? See ya next time in,**

**Chapter 4: No Way Out **

**_PLEASE REVIEW!_**


	4. Chapter 4: no way out

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: I have finally updated for all of you people! This chapter is moving, sad, and has some action in it! I hope that you enjoy my new chapter! And thank you to all of my reviewers! You guys are the coolest!**

**Chapter 4: No Way Out**

Anko stood before all of the students. Rai, Kuro, and Aiko stood together, but Kuro and Rai stood to her sides, making sure that Kabuto didn't get near her. She looked down at the ground as she listened to Anko. She then looked up and looked to her side, past Rai. She saw Kabuto looking at her. He frowned. She frowned as well and turned her head. Kabuto looked at Anko again and tried to keep his eyes away from Aiko before Kuro or Rai caught him.

"Welcome to the Forest Of Death!" Anko said. They all looked at the forest. The trees seem unpleasant and the darkness of the forest showed that it was full of mystery. No one was sure of what to expect, but they knew it would not be pretty.

"Aiko, are you okay?" Rai asked. Aiko looked at Rai and smiled weakly. She nodded and he raised a brow. "Okay. . .it's just that even you are never this quiet." Aiko turned her head and faced Anko again as she continued to talk to the group of ninjas. Kuro narrowed her eyes at Kabuto and kept his ground.

". . . .Just don't die!" Anko shouted. A few of the ninjas shuddered at the thought of death, but Kuro smiled a little. He wanted to kill Kabuto so Aiko could get him out of her mind. What Rai and Kuro didn't know was that Aiko was tearing herself up inside because she thought Rai and Kuro didn't trust her.

After a while, all of the ninjas went to the separate gates and waited for the gates to be opened to start the exam. Aiko, Kuro, and Rai waited patiently. Kuro wanted to just jump over the fence and get started. The man that stood next to the gate, took out a key and place it in the lock. The chain fell and the gates were opened. Aiko, Kuro, and Rai ran into the forest.

- - - -

Kabuto stopped running and looked around the area that he and his teammates were in.

"_I wonder where she is. . ." _Kabuto thought. _"I have to talk to her."_

"Kabuto, what are you looking for?" asked his teammate. "Is that girl we saw at the beginning of the exam? Well?" Kabuto faced his teammate with a simple smile.

"No," Kabuto lied. His teammates looked at him and Kabuto jumped into the near by tree. They followed Kabuto to find a person with an Heaven scroll.

- - - -

Aiko clutched the Heaven scroll in her hand as Kuro and Rai ran a head of her. The two boys stopped and looked around. It seemed to be like a good place to stop for a moment to rest. Kuro leaned against a tree and took a deep breath. Rai sat on the floor and Aiko remained standing. Kuro took out one of his knives and threw it. The knife hit a tree and was then stuck in the trunk.

"What the hell, Kuro?" Rai asked.

"This will be our rendevous point," Kuro said. "We are going to split up and see if we can find a team with an Earth scroll. This is only a spying mission. Once you find a team with an Earth scroll, report back here, and then we will decide which team to attack. Got it?"

"Yup," Rai answered. They looked at Aiko who just nodded. "Aiko, you hold onto the Heaven scroll, okay?"

"Okay," Aiko said.

"Rai, you go east, Aiko, you go north, and I'll go west. Go!" Kuro jumped into a tree and leaped to the other branches of other trees. Rai ran east and Aiko ran north.

"_I don't know what Kuro is planning, but I have a feeling that he is going to **use **Aiko to get to Kabuto. Doesn't he realize that Aiko will hate his guts if he does that?" _Rai said as he ran through the woods. _"I guess I will have to wait and see."_

Aiko kept running, still holding the scroll close to her chest. She eventually stopped running and leaned against a tree. She huffed and sat down.

"_Kuro's trust is dying on me. He thinks I'll seel our team or something and if he thought that then why would he let me hold onto the scroll? Is he planning something again? Unlikely, but still. . . ." _she thought. _"I don't know if I can continue like this! This whole exam was a mistake! I should have just stayed home – back in the rain village! What possessed me to some here? This was all a mistake!" _

- - - -

Kabuto had split up with his teammates. He was supposed to be looking for a Heaven scroll when he actually already had one, but didn't tell the others. His goal; to find Aiko. He told his teammates that they would meet at the tower after Kabuto 'got the scroll'.

Kabuto continued to jumped from tree to tree looking for other teams, but his main goal was to find Aiko. He had to talk to her about what had happened the previous night. He could tell that deep down inside she was frightened of Kuro and wanted to tell her not to be frightened at all because he would always be there. He stopped and got out the deck of skill cards. He flipped through them and found Aiko, Kuro, and Rai's cards. He looked at them and frowned, putting them back on the top of the deck, and placing them back in his pocket. He was about to jump to the next tree when he heard someone crying. He looked down at the tree in the open and saw Aiko, sitting against the tree with a Heaven scroll in her arms.

"Why is she all the way out here?" Kabuto asked himself. He kept himself hidden in the leaves of the tree and watched Aiko for a moment.

"I can't take this anymore," Aiko said to herself. "I know Kuro doesn't mean to, but he is. He is torturing me!And. . .I am the weakest on my team, only by a little, but I am still weak. I am putting Rai and Kuro's lives on the line with me being here. I can't walk away from the exam, but I can stop myself from going on. There is one way that I can stop this whole thing." Kabuto raised a brow. He knew that she couldn't walk back to one of the gates and leave, so how could she make it all stop. She put the Heaven scroll in her kunai pouch and pulled out a kunai knife. Now it was clear on what she was going to do! She was going to take her own life for Rai and Kuro! "You guys are my best friends and I could never live with myself if I saw you both die in front of me. Rai. . Kuro. . .I'm sorry. . ." Aiko held the kunai knife with her right hand and the scroll in her left. She held the knife out from her chest and closed her eyes as tears fell off of her cheeks.

"No!" Kabuto shouted. Just as she brought the knife toward her chest Kabuto embraced her in a hug and the knife hit his back. He winced and Aiko instantly let go of the knife.

"K-Ka-Kabuto?" she stuttered. "Why did you-?"

"You d-don't have to k-kill yourself in order f-for Rai a-and Kuro to live," Kabuto said as pain rain through his veins. Aiko felt his hug get tighter. "Don't let your l-low self-esteem g-get to you. I th-think that Rai and Kuro would want you to go through a-all of the hardships of th-this exam with them. D-Don't you? I know that they don't like me a lot, but I should know them well enough by now to know that. R-Right?"

"Oh. . .Kabuto. . ." Aiko said. Her hands were shaking, but she managed to grab the handle of the knife and started to pull. She pulled the bloodstained knife out of Kabuto's back and dropped it onto the grass. He let go of her and looked at Aiko whose eyes were now filled with tears.

"AAAAAIIIIIIIIKKKKKKOOOOOO!" they heard a male shout. Kabuto and Aiko saw birds few into the air from an open area of trees. She reconized the voice.

"Rai?" Aiko said.

"Come on!" Kabuto said as he grabbed her hand. "They might be in trouble! Who knows what group of ninjas they could have run into!" He and Aiko started to run in the direction of Rai's scream. What was happening to them?

They ran through the trees and into the open area to see three ninjas from the village hidden in theleaves laughing at Rai and Kuro as they struggle to get up.Aiko ran over to Kuro and Kabuto ran over to Rai. The other ninjas continued to laugh at Rai and Kuro.Kuro looked at Aiko and blinked. He smiled a little and placed his hand on her shoulder as she held him up.

"You c-came. . ." he said weakly. "I'm glad that you heard Rai shouting your name. We're sorry, Aiko. We lost and we can't help you f-fight right now. I don't have anymorestrength that I can spare."

"Awe, does the little girl have to fight us alone? Or is four eyes gonna help 'er?"one of the ninjas teased.

"Don't let them get to you," Rai said. "That's how they hook you!"

"Don't waste your energy, Rai," Kabuto said. "Get some rest. We'll take it from here."

"Don'tlet him get them get their hands on the scroll, Aiko," Kuro said. Aiko looked at her friend as he started to pass out. "Don't. . .lose. . .the. . .scroll. . ." Kuro's eyes closed and he was out cold. Aiko laid him on the grass and she looked at her handsthat were now covered in her friendsblood. Her eyes widened as she stood strait.

"Aiko?" Rai asked. "Aiko?"

"Don't move, Rai," she said."And, Kabuto, don't get in the middle of this. I will get rid of these men myself." She closed her eyes and clutched her fists.

"What can you do to us?" asked anotheroneof the leaf ninjas. "How about youjust give us the scroll and we'll let you and your friends go? After all, we do need a Heaven scroll. So, hand it over."

"No. . ." Aiko said coldly.She then disappearedfor a moment and then appeared behind the first ninja. He quikly turned and punched her in the stomach. The other man caught her and held her arms back. She spit the blood out of her mouth and the third ninjawalked up to her, putting his hand under her chin. He made her look at him.

"Your cute," he said. "Now let's see. . .where could that scroll be?" He looked ather pouch that wasaround her thigh. Hereached for it, but Aiko hit him upright thejaw with her knee and he fell back. She got out of theother ninjas arms, but he was holding onto her shirt. When she got away from him, fromher mid stomach down of her shirt was ripped off. He then reached for her shoulders and ripped the shoulder parts of her shirt off.

"I cannot get a good grip on her!" he shouted as she landed about ten feet away from him.

"Try harder, dammit!" shouted the leader. He used his jutsu to teleport and Aiko couldn't find him until she heard him come up behind her. She teleportedbehind him and pushed him into the ground.

_"Dammit. I can't moveas fast as he can in these jeans!" _Aiko thought. The other two ninjas ran up to their leader and helped him up, then giving Aiko a death glare. Aiko took out a kunai knife and cut her jeans into shorts before the ninjas could attack her.

"Aiko! What are you doing?" Kabuto asked.

"They can move faster thanI can because I'm wearing jeans which slow me down! Now I know why everyone wore either cotton pants or shorts," she said. Ske put her knife way and got ready for the ninjas to attack.

"You can't beat us that easy,doll!" the second ninja shouted. Aiko sighed after he called her 'doll'. The ninjas took out ninja stars and threw them at her. She dodged, but was then pinned against a tree with a clear wire. When the second and third ninjas threw the stars the leadergot out the wire and was able to tie her to the tree.

"Get ready to finish her off!" shouted the leader. The all pulled out stars and threw them. Aiko closed her eyes, but opened them when she noticed that she was not dead yet. Sheopened her eyesto a horrible sight. Rai was standing in front of her with two stars in his right arm, one on his left shoulder, threein his chest, and one on his right ankle.

"Aiko. . .I know that you are mad at Kuro and myself for not trusting you as much as we should have," Rai said as he fell to his knees. "But we are your friends and that is enough reason for youto still believe in us. Weallhave our doubts, but pleasebelieve me when I say; we still trust you with all of our hearts. And you still have a mission, Aiko. Don't disappoint us. . ." Rai thenfell over completely, passed out. Aiko looked at her friend with tears runningdown her cheeks.

"How touching," said the leader.

"It makes me sick," said the third ninja."Can we kill her now and take the scroll?" The other two ninjas nodded and the took outmore stars and knives. They stuttered for a moment when they saw that Aiko started to glow alightgreen.

"What the hell is goin' on!" shouted the leader. Aiko looked upat the ninjas and her eyes were now blood red and she now had sharp fang-like teeth.

_"What is this power? It is so immense!" _Kabuto thought. Aiko then snapped the wire as she lifted her arms upward. She walked closerto the ninja, but they started to back away. _"No one has this much power unless they have an inner demon or something! Wait. . .that means. . .Aiko has an inner demon! It can't be anything like theNine Tailed Fox, can it?"_

"What's wrong?" Aiko asked as she got closer to the men. "Still think I can't beat you? I beg todiffer."

**A/N; It seems like Aiko has an inner self that is just as powerful as the leaf ninjas. Her low self-esteem seems tohave melted away and her anger had risen along with her power and strength!What is happening to her? Is it a demon like Naruto's? Find out in;**

**Chapter 5: Raining Blood**

**_PLEASE REVIEW!_**


	5. Chapter 5: raining blood

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: hmm. . .I still have nothing to say (what's up with that?) Please enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Raining Blood**

"Well?" Aiko said. "You still think that you can kill me? Answer me, you assholes!" The ninjas kept backing away. The leader made a fist and started to come at Aiko.

"I won't let this girl beat us!" he shouted. He swung at her, but she turned to the side. She then grabbed his fist, and hit him in the stomach with her knee. He fell to the ground, as blood started to fall from his lips. She looked over at the other men and grinned, showing her sharp teeth.

"Now, what to do with you. . .?" she said. "I know. . ." She held out her left hand and her nails grew to about an inch long. She placed her nails on her right palm and cut the skin. Blood ran down her hand. She ran up to the two ninjas. As they tried to get away, they were splattered with her blood.

"We have to hide from her!" shouted one of the ninjas. "We need a plan!" He threw a smoke bomb in front of her and they were able to get away, hiding behind the trees and bushes.

"_Good, she can't find us now. . ." _thought the third ninja.

"A smoke bomb?" Aiko said her head down. "Heh, heh, heh, a useless attempt. I don't have to see you to attack you. I can smell my blood on your skin, your clothes. No matter where you go, no matter how far you run, I will find you."

"_How am I going to stop this?" _Kabuto thought. _"Aiko doesn't want to kill them, but her inner demon has a thirst for blood. I don't know if I can stop her. I have to get to Aiko. . .somehow. . ."_

Aiko disappeared and the next thing that was heard was the scream of the second ninja. Aiko walked out from behind a large tree with blood coming out of the side of her mouth. She licked her blood red lips, wiping them clean again.

"One down, and one to go," Aiko said. "I'll be generous and let you choose your fate. Would you like me to bite your neck like your little friend or kill you swiftly. Your choice!" Doink! Aiko turned and saw that she was hit in the back of the head with an Earth scroll.

"Take it," said the leader. "Just take it and leave me and my friend alone." She picked up the scroll and grinned.

"After what you did to me friends?" she asked. "I don't think so." She disappeared again and the third ninjas scream echoed through out the forest. A few other ninjas teams around the area became silent and fights between teams were stopped for a slight second. Aiko reappeared with blood on her hands and chest. "Maybe I killed him to slowly. Now. . .for your demise." She placed the second scroll in her pouch with the Heaven scroll and walked over to the man.

"Please. . .I gave you the scroll. . .let me leave!"

"Not a chance!" she shouted. She grabbed his shirt collar and threw him up into the air. When he came back down to her level, she hit him upright the jaw with the heel of her hand and he fell backwards. She was going to drop kick him, but he moved out of the way. He pulled out a knife and threw it at her. It stabbed her in the back, but she pulled it out and threw it back at him. It hit him in the side.

"Agh!" he shouted as he pulled it out and threw it onto the floor.

"How dare you expect me to let you run away after hurting my teammates," she hissed, picked him up again. She lifted him up so his feet were no longer touching the ground. She spun him around and threw him. He hit a tree and landed on his knees.

"I gave you the scroll..." he said, coughing up blood.

"Not good enough," she stated, hitting him in the back with her foot. She was going to strike with her nails, but Kabuto came up behind her. He grabbed her wrist and wrapped his other arm around her, holding down her other arm.

"Run!" Kabuto shouted. "Run while you still can! I'm sorry about your teammates, but you can still get away! Go!"

"Thank you!" he shouted as he ran away. He eventually disappeared in the shadows of the forest. Since he didn't have any of Aiko's blood on him, she could not track him.

"Why did you help him!" Aiko shouted in fury.

"You have the scroll," he said. "It's time to stop." She turned her head and bit his shoulder. He let go of her and she leaped away from him. "I'll kill you in his place!"

"Aiko, I don't want to hurt you," Kabuto said. "So sto-!" She arrow kicked Kabuto and he fell over. He was able to grab her ankle and flip her onto the ground. She was still for a moment and then flipped over onto her back.

"You asshole," she said, getting up. Her arm was out of place from the shoulder blade. She grabbed her shoulder and Kabuto heard a crack as she put it back in place. "You think that can stop me? I don't think so."

"Shit," Kabuto muttered. She came at him again with a knife. Kabuto had an idea, but he had to get her on her back again. She tried to hit him, but he dodged.

"_I can't keep dodging her attacks like this!"_ he thought as he jumped away from her again.

"Come and face your death, Kabuto!" she shouted. He dodged her again, but didn't jump away. He moved to the side, grabbed her hair, and slung her to the ground. She was on her back again. Kabuto got out a knife and held it up to her neck, after squatting down to her level. He still held her hair, his fist close to her scalp. "Aiko, don't make me slit your throat!" She struggled for a moment, but then stopped.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. He looked at her eyes and they were back to normal as was her teeth and nails. Tears started to fall from her eyes because of her wounds and Kabuto's tight grip on her hair. He let go of her and helped her up. "What happened?"

Plop.

They turned to see the two ninjas bodies fall from the branches of the trees. She then looked down at her hands to see the gash on her palm and blood under her nails. The cuts on her legs and arms, the rips in her clothes, and her lack of memory gave her an idea on what happened.

"No. . .not again," she said, her voice shaking.

"What? You mean this has happened before?"

"A long time ago, when I was about six years old. I was playing with my group of friends when the village bully came by. He hit my best friend and I snapped. I didn't remember anything and the boy was in the village hospital for a week. But this time I actually killed people," she cried. She then looked at Kabuto's shoulder and saw the marks. Her tears became heavy in her eyes. "Dammit! I hurt you too! What the hell is going on!"

"Calm down, it's all over, okay?" he said.

"At least," she said. "Rai and Kuro are safe. The ninjas are gone. I have the scroll. I guess, all is fine. . ." She collapsed and Kabuto caught her.

"_Why do I keep getting tied up in other peoples problems?" _Kabuto asked himself.

"Hey!" Kabuto turned and saw Kuro and Rai walked over to him. Rai held out his arms and Kabuto handed Rai his teammate. "I guess I should say...well...thanks." Kuro said.

"For what?" Kabuto asked.

"You snapped Aiko out of her demon form before she killed anyone else," Kuro said.

"Better yet, you stopped her before she hurt herself," Rai said with a smile. "Thanks. Kuro, we have the scrolls, so let's get going."

"Right," Kuro stated, turning their backs to Kabuto. Kabuto turned his back to them and jumped into the trees.

**A/N: **Ah, another chapter complete! Sorry that it took so long! PLEASE REVIEW!


	6. Chapter 6: it's only begun

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: hello and here is a new chapter! Aiko and her team are okay, so far. Now they have a little talk with their sensei and then they must fight to either get rid of the competition or get themselves knocked off!**

**Chapter 6: It's Only Begun**

Kuro and Rai were in the tower, Rai still holding his knocked out teammate, Aiko. He placed her on the ground and then took the two scrolls out of her knife pouch. He tossed the Earth scroll to Kuro and he caught it.

"Well, they said we open the scrolls in the tower," Kuro stated, looking at the scroll.

"Yup. I wonder what will happen when we do open the scrolls," Rai said, looking at the Heaven scroll in his hands. Kuro and Rai opened the scrolls and looked at them. Once they had opened the scrolls they placed them on the floor after they started to glow. Then appeared,

"Isshin sensei!" Kuro and Rai said at the same time. Isshin smiled at his students and looked at them.

"It's nice to see you two as well," said their sensei. He saw Aiko on the floor, still knocked out. He sighed and walked over to her. "Well, I have a good idea on what happened to you three. Her demon form, right?"

"Yeah," Rai said with a frown.

"She must have felt great sadness and anger," said Isshin. He looked at her stomach and sighed. "She has tried to hide the seal that keeps her inner demon away, but I see that it is starting to break."

"A seal?" Rai asked. "There is nothing on her stomach. So what are you talking about?"

"To hide the seal and to escape the hatred that the village people had for her, she went to the town elder and he used some of his chakara to hide her seal. Since it is starting to break...the best thing to do is to let it be known that she has a demon in her. As a warning to those who are not aware."

"For the last time, there is no seal on her," Kuro said. Isshin, ignoring Kuro and Rai, placed his hand on her stomach and closed his eyes. Using his chakara he was able to bring the seal out from hiding. The seal looked like Naruto's, but it was a dark blue with three black claw marks going across it.

"That's the seal?" Rai asked, looking over his sensei's shoulder.

"Yes," Isshin stated, as he stood up straight. He reached into the bag on his back and handed Kuro a shirt that looked like a kami. It was black and the stomach was missing.

"You really want people to see that seal don't you?" Kuro asked, looking at the shirt.

"Her demon could be, and probably is, stronger than the other two demons that are here as well," Isshin said. "Since she is older than them she has a little more skill and power, which helps the demon as well as herself. If they know that she has a demon inside of her, they might be able to find a way to survive if it is released. I only want the best for her as well as everyone else here."

"I don't think we should do this," Rai said. "The best would be to cover the seal so no one knows about it. What they don't know won't kill them will it?"

"If they don't know then she might kill all of them," Isshin said, as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"He is full of shit," Kuro said, throwing the shirt to the ground.

"But that is the only other shirt we have that fits her now, besides the one she is wearing, but that one is destroyed," Rai said. "We have no choice, but to give it to her when she wakes up."

"I hate our sensei..." Kuro hissed.

**- - - -**

"Good job, Kabuto," Orochimaru smiled. He looked at the card that Kabuto gave him with Sasuke's information on it. "He is perfect..."

"Is there anything else you may need?" Kabuto asked.

"Why..yes...there is," Orochimaru said. "A girl...there is a certain girl in this exam that will make a fine accomplice. Her name is one that you may know, Kabuto. You had the pleasure of seeing her power not to long ago."

"Her name is?" Kabuto asked, hoping it wasn't Aiko.

"Don't play dumb, Kabuto. Aiko is her name," Orochimaru said with a grin. "I want her information as well, Kabuto. Do you have any?"

"No," Kabuto lied. "All I have on her card is her name, her village, and her teammates. Everything else is a blank."

"What a shame. Even though I expect you to drop out of the exam, I will keep an eye on her until Sasuke fights. After that I must leave the area. I just hope she is as strong as I think she is...and that demon in her adds to the power when she feels sadness, anger, or bloodlust."

"So I must drop out of the exam again?"

"Exactly. Now, I must leave and watch over the first few fights, hoping hers is before Sasuke's." Orochimaru disappeared and that left Kabuto with his two teammates.

"_Aiko is in danger now because of me getting into her teams business...just great," _Kabuto thought as he and his teammates left the room.

**- - - -**

All of the ninja were assembled in the tower. Sakura and Ino glaring daggers at one another, Sasuke trying to ignore the mark on his neck, and Naruto waiting with anticipation. Kabuto looked around and saw Aiko with her team. She was awake now and was wearing the shirt that was given to her by her sensei. She was a little conscious about her stomach and the seal being shown off, but had to live with it since her other shirt was destroyed. She was standing next to Rai who stood next to Kuro. She didn't try to find Kabuto and didn't really want to see him for she still felt horrible about hurting him and killing the other ninjas. The ninja in the room were talking as their sensei's and the Hokage walked in front of them.

"Aiko, are you okay?" Rai asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she asked. "I just have a small headache."

"Okay," he said. She looked up and could feel Kabuto looking at her. She turned away from him so he was looking at the back of her head. He sighed and reached into his pocket. He felt the deck of cards in his hand and knew that her card was on the top of the deck. While Orochimaru, who was dressed like the other sensei's, wasn't looking, he took her card out of the deck and placed it in his back pocket.

"Now that you are all here we can get moving with the third part of the exam," said the Hokage. "This part of the exam you are no longer a team. You are all on your own. Of course, if any of you feel as though you can't handle that you may quit now and try again next year."

"Okay, then. I'm out," Kabuto said, raising his hand.

"Kabuto!" Naruto said, standing behind Kabuto. Aiko looked over at Kabuto and felt her heart sink. Kuro looked at Kabuto and then at Aiko. He could tell that she wasn't happy about him leaving, but Kuro, on the other hand, was happy. Rai frowned, knowing Aiko would be a little upset since she and Kabuto were good friends.

"I'm tired, Naruto. I can't go on," Kabuto said. He looked over at Aiko before leaving and saw her face expression. He frowned as well and then walked away.

"Very well," said the Hokage. "Anyone else? No? Fine."

"Lord Hokage..." Anko said.

"What is it?" he asked. He and Anko started to talk, most likely about Kabuto dropping out again. Rai placed his hand on Aiko's shoulder. She looked up at him and he smiled.

"I know that you don't want him to leave, Aiko, but like he said, he is tired and probably can't go on. It's better he leaves than get killed later," Rai smiled. Aiko smiled a little.

"I think he left because he is scared," Kuro said, crossing his arms. "He knows he would be killed and is running away from it." Rai shot a glare at Kuro, signaling for him to stop. Kuro rolled his eyes and remained silent.

"Strange..." said the Hokage after Anko stopped talking. "Anyway, now that those who wanted to leave left, we can start the exam. Hayate, you may take over." A man walked up and coughed.

"All right then," the man known as Hayate said. "Now, you can see the balcony that lines the area. That is where you will all be as the fighters compete down here on ground level. Everyone get onto the balcony before we continue." He coughed again. As everyone headed for the balcony, Naruto wasn't looking and bumped into Aiko.

"Sorry," Aiko said. "I didn't see you there." Naruto rubbed his nose and looked at where it had hit. He looked at her shown off stomach and his eyes widened a little. Aiko walked around the boy and he watched her and her team get up onto the balcony. He followed Sakura and Sasuke onto the balcony and was facing Aiko who was on the balcony across from him. Sakura gave him a weird look.

"What are you looking at, Naruto?" she asked. He pointed to Aiko.

"Her."

"Why her?"

"Look at her stomach," Naruto said. Sakura looked at the girl Naruto was pointing to and then looked back at Naruto. "She has a seal on her stomach like me which can only mean on thing."

"She has a demon inside of her," Sakura said. "But...what village is she from?"

"Look at her headband. That girl, along with the two guys next to her, are from the village hidden in the rain. I think they are the only people from the rain village who made it this far," Sasuke said, his hand on the side on his neck to cover the mark. "There are also ninjas from the sound and sand villages here."

"Hmm..." Naruto said. "I wonder if there are any other demons here..."

"We'll have to wait and see," Sasuke said.

After Hayate told them the rules, everyone pointed their attention to the large board. They watched names come up and then be deleted as the computer chose the first two to fight against each other. That names finally stopped changing. Aiko's name came up on the screen for the first name. The second name was one she didn't recognize, but when the ninja jumped onto the arena she looked down at him and saw it was the same ninja who she almost killed. He must have won two scrolls and was able to get into the tower even though he was alone. She felt her heart sink again, thinking the demon in her would get aroused, but was then thankful, not feeling the want to kill. She jumped off of the balcony and looked at the man who then flinched. He wanted to surrender when his sensei shouted;

"Show her not to mess with our team! She killed your team, now show her no mercy, Shu!" Shu nodded and got into a fighting stance.

"Shu, was your name?" Aiko asked. "I'm sorry that I killed you team and I find it fair that you start the fight with the first shots. I will not defend myself so make your hits worth it to avenge your friends."

"Aiko, are you that stupid!" Kuro shouted.

"Kuro..." Rai said.

"No, she needs to get it through her head that-"

"Kuro, stay out of this!" Aiko shouted at him. He stared at her and didn't speak. "I can take care of myself."

"_Excellent..." _Orochimaru thought as Shu headed for Aiko, his fist pulled back to make the first strike.

**A/N: And that is it for now. Sorry that this update was a little slow, but I had major writers block for this story. Anyway,**

**Next time, Aiko has to face Shu who is a little scared of Aiko after seeing her second side. As the fight continues, the demon in her wants to come out and finish what it started, but now this makes Aiko have to fight Shu and the demon inside of her.**

**See you next time in;**

**Chapter 7: Two on One **


	7. Chapter 7: two on one

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Thank you to those of you who reviewed! Last time; Kabuto left and Aiko is a little upset about that, but now Orochimaru has her in his sights. Now she must face Shu, who wants to avenge his teammates, but the demon inside Aiko wants to finish off Shu. How can Aiko fight Shu and the demon at the same time?**

**Chapter 7: Two on One**

Aiko took the first punch and staggered for a moment. She could tell he wasn't using all of his strength, frightened to unleash her inner demon. She sighed and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Look...I know how you feel," she said. "But is that all the effort you'll put into this fight to avenge your teammates? Come at me with all you have. I'm stilling giving you the first shots without me blocking you. So, go on." He was silent for a moment.

"Why do you care?" he asked, anger layering his voice. "You're the one that killed them!"

"I didn't mean to. It just happened. Now, are you going to keep talking or are you going to attack me? You may want to put some more effort into this."

"I'm just getting warmed up!" Shu shouted, as he came at her again. This time he punched her upright the jaw and then kicked her in the gut, sending her to the floor. He brought his heel down on her, but she moved out of the way. She was now going to defend herself, after already keeping her promise with him getting the first shots at her. She put up her fists and they started to exchange and dodge blows. Kuro and Rai looked down at Aiko, noticing she was a little different. She wasn't afraid to hit another person unlike before when she actually hesitated. Rai thought that it was because the seal was showing and it brought out a braver side of her.

Aiko and Shu jumped away from each other to catch their breaths. Aiko wiped the blood away from the side of her mouth and got back into a fighting stance. Shu took a deep breath and also got into a fighting stance. Aiko was about tp attack when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and dropped her stance. Shu looked at her with a questioning look.

"What's...happening?" she muttered.

"_Let me out!" _shouted a voice in Aiko's head. She closed her eyes in pain and held onto her stomach. Shu watched as Aiko fell to her knees in pain.

"What is happening to me?" Aiko asked herself.

"_Let me out, you stupid girl! I am going to finish him off like his little friends!" _

"W-What?"

"_You are not familiar with what happened because I am the one that tried to kill them! I almost succeed, but that miserable friend of your stopped me! Now is my chance to destroy this man! So, let me out now!"_

"No!" Aiko shouted, her hands over her ears. Shu looked at her, as did everyone else, but still kept his fighting stance. "The killing stops here. I will not let you kill anyone here, got that? No one!"

"_You pitiful girl! You are sending yourself to your own death! He wants to kill you in return for what I did to his teammates. You have no choice but to kill him or be killed yourself. Which is it?" _

"No..." Aiko trailed off. Shu was tired of her talking to someone he couldn't see and attacked her. The girl looked up and was able to jump away from him, but he grabbed her ankle and slung her to the other side of the room. She hit the wall and fell to the floor on her side. She gripped her ribs and winced as she stood from her landing spot. Her knees were shaking a little, but she was able to stand straight. He attacked once again, but Aiko had decided to fight back. She grabbed both of his fists and bent them back. He shouted in pain as he heard a crack come from his wrists. She kicked him in the stomach and heard and even larger and louder crack come from his wrists. He hit the wall on the other side of the room and landed on the floor on his butt. He got up, not using his hands. She had broken his wrists and he could not longer feel his hands. She got into a fighting stance, still feeling the demon in her trying to release itself. She was able to hold it off. Shu, on the other hand, was trying to think of a way to attack Aiko without using his hands. He would have to resort to kicks and dodges since his arms hands were useless and he didn't know how his arms would be of any help to him at this point. Shu ran towards her again and tried to sweep kick Aiko to make her fall over. She jumped over his leg, but when his leg came around again, she landed beside it and he was able to trip her. She was about to fall back, but he brought his leg up and kicked her in the side. This attack sent her to the ground again, but when she hit the floor, she gripped at the tiles and pushed herself back onto her feet. He brought his leg up into the air and then brought it back down, trying to hit her in the shoulder to make her fall to her knees. She grabbed his leg with one hand and placed her other hand under his shin. She flipped him over her back, but he landed on his feet in a bent down position. He jumped back at her and hit her in the lower back with his knee. She fell forward and landed on the ground on her stomach. Aiko shook her head as she sat up and Shu placed his foot on her back, pushing her back down. He grinned as she just lay there. She spat some blood out of her mouth and looked at Shu from the corner of her eye.

"You see what it like now...not having anyone else on your side and you have to fight on your own," Shu stated, still grinning. "You've had those two guys help you this whole time, but now that your on your own, you can't save anyone...not even yourself. I had to fight my way here after you killed my friends. Now, I will take revenge by killing you."

"_Let me out now!" _the demon demanded. Aiko shook her head again. _"Are you going to let it end here? Here and now? You are weaker than I thought. You are never to show that you want death unless you truly do. And I know for a fact that you want to live. You want to see that man again. The man with the silver hair."_

"Kabuto?"

"_You want to live and see him again. I am not going to argue with you for much longer, but believe me when I tell you that you want to live. No matter how many times you say you want to die, you never really mean it. Now, let me out!" _Aiko closed her eyes and saw Kabuto standing in the darkness. He smiled, but then vanished. She opened her eyes again, but they were blood red and her canine teeth were like fangs. Her nails were long and sharp. She was able to bring her arm back and grab Shu's ankle. He looked down at her in disbelief.

"Guess who came back to play?" Aiko said, a demonic voice layering her own. Her grip on his ankle tightened and they all heard a large cracking sound again. He closed his eyes in pain as Aiko threw Shu off of her and he landed on the ground. She got up and dusted herself off.

"_Don't kill him!" _Aiko pleaded.

"I won't kill him. I'll just break some more bones!" the demon said, licking her lips. She was able to break his forearms, ankles, and two of his ribs before the match was declared over with. The demon subsided and Aiko collapsed. Orochimaru, who had watched the entire fight, decided to take action. He used his jutsu and ended up next to Aiko and helped her up.

"Wh-Where is my sensei?" she asked. "I must speak to him."

"He's not here, but don't worry," said the man with long black hair. "I'll get you to the infirmary so you can be taken care of. You look so tired."

"No need for you to take her," said a man from the infirmary. "We'll take care of her." Not wanting to blow his cover, he handed Aiko over to the man and went back up onto the balcony. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"_I wasn't able to get much, but I could feel the sadness is her. It is feeding the demon inside of her. As long as Kabuto is away from her, she will get stronger. Then what I have to do to get her to be on my side is very clear."_

**A/N: and now, this chapter comes to a close. In the next chapter:**

**Aiko is in the infirmary and is trying to get some rest when someone comes into her room. Who is it and why is he there?**

**See you next time in,**

**Chapter 8: Lessen My Sadness**


	8. Chapter 8: lessen my pain

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: Hello again, peoples! Last time; Aiko had faced Shu and tried to hold back the demon in her as best she could, but finally released the demon to end the battle. Aiko is now in the infirmary, trying to get some rest.**

**Chapter 8: Lessen My Pain**

"I think she's coming around..." The voice sounded familiar to Aiko, but it wasn't clear. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the lighting of the room. She sat up and saw Rai sitting next to her bed. He smiled. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Rai?" she asked. He nodded. "Rai, please tell me, what happened to Shu. Is he okay?"

"Don't worry," Rai said. "All you did was break a few of his bones. He might not be able to walk for a while, but he should be fine. Don't worry. He's in good hands." Aiko sighed. She was happy that he was okay, but a little upset about her being the one to cause his pain. She looked around the room and Kuro was nowhere in sight. She looked back at Rai.

"Where's Kuro?"

"He's fighting right now. He really wants to make it to the next round with you...ya, know...he cares about you. A lot."

"I've noticed."

"You did? I thought you though he was just being rude."

"He was, but still...it's not that hard to see after a while."

"I guess that is true."

"Who is he fighting?"

"Hope for the best because he is going against some guy from the sound village."

"The sound village?"

"Yeah. I hear they are really tough, so I hope he can hold on his own for now. I also hope for my fight to go well, but fate has a way of changing things, I suppose."

"Yeah. I guess." Rai scratched the back of his head and smiled at his friend. He stood from his chair and walked over to the door frame. He looked back at her and said;

"You should get some more rest. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Aiko said as her friend closed the door. She lay on her bed again and looked up at the ceiling. Now she was worried about Kuro's fight as well as Rai's that would happen later. She turned to her side and hugged her pillow, and then pulled the covers up to her neck. Now that she was more comfortable she thought she could get some sleep without her thoughts keeping her awake.

- - - -

"Kabuto..." Orochimaru said, leaning against a large pillar outside of the arena. Kabuto looked at his master as he sat on the ground. "What do you think of that girl? Aiko was her name?"

"From what I saw she has no control over her inner demon. A person that can't control their power is of no use to us."

"Is that so? Well, I think if Aiko wasn't there..."

"You mean...it just be her inner demon with control over her body?"

"Yes. Then there would be no struggle for control. I am interested in Aiko, yes, but her inner demon is the one thing that she has that can help me gain more and more power. Don't you think?"

"I thought you were going to use Sasuke for that."

"I was and I will, but he may need a little help. After all, he is so young with little experience in most fields. Aiko, on the other hand, is older than him. I think she is eighteen, making her an excellent person for the job. Since she is only a year younger than you, Kabuto, she should be more experienced."

"You may have a point. I would like to know, however, how you are going to get her inner demon full control over her body? Have you thought that out?"

"With a certain someone around her anger and sadness are a lot stronger, Kabuto. Either that certain someone leaves her alone or I will have to take drastic measures."

"And that certain someone is?" Kabuto asked. He had a feeling that the 'certain someone' could be three people. (1) Kuro, (2) Rai, and (3) himself. He waited for Orochimaru's answer.

"Why, Kabuto, you are that certain someone. Around you she seems to have courage, happiness, and motivation. I can't have her feeling those things anymore."

"And if I was no stay around her?"

"I'm afraid I would have to kill you, Kabuto."

"Kill me?"

"But of course. Now, on another note, what about Sasuke? He seems like an excellent person to help me rule, don't you think?" Kabuto sighed and stood from where he was sitting. Orochimaru smiled evilly at Kabuto who then leaped away from him. He knew what Kabuto was going to do to Sasuke, but what he would do with Aiko was a different matter.

- - - -

Aiko opened her eyes and sat up again. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the small clock next to her. She had slept for about two hours and wasn't feeling very tired anymore. Also being tired of sitting down, she got out of bed and walked over to the windowsill. Her right leg hurt a little, but she was able to ignore the pain long enough to open the window and sit on the windowsill. She thought it was a nice change to be out of a arena full of blood and screaming and it was nice to be back looking out a green forests with birds. This silence only lasted so long. She heard her door open and then close. She turned and saw Kabuto standing by her door, leaning on the frame.

"Oh...uh...hi, Aiko."

"Hi, Kabuto. What are you doing here? Didn't you drop out of the exam?"

"I did, but um...I'm a friend of Sasuke Uchiha and I heard he was in the infirmary, so I came back to see him. I thought this was his room."

"Oh."

"I guess I could stay here with you for a while. After all, your hurt and I should stay here with you for a while. You're my friend too." Kabuto knew that if Orochimaru knew he was with Aiko he would lose his life.

"You can if you want too. I don't mind." He smiled and walked over to Aiko, looking out the window with her. "It's nice, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"Isn't it nice to see bright skies, birds, and the sun again? For the past few days we have been in nothing but dark, cold, damp, and bloodstained arenas and forests. I think it's nice to see all of the nicer things in life again."

"I guess." After a few moments of silence, Aiko yawned and Kabuto looked down at her. He picked her up which startled her and he placed her back on her bed.

"Kabuto, what are you doing?"

"I think you had enough sunshine and now it's time for more shuteye." Aiko smiled a little. Kabuto was about to leave her room when she said;

"Thank you." He had his hand on the doorknob when he stopped.

"For what?"

"Being here. You've helped me throughout this entire exam and I have to thank you for it. You're a great friend, Kabuto. You really are." He took his hand off the knob of the door and walked back to Aiko's bedside. He bent down and smiled.

"You're a great person yourself. Sure, you may have some faults like low self-esteem, but those things can be overlooked by good friends. I've overlooked it." Aiko smiled as her eyes closed and she fell back asleep. Kabuto almost took the chance to kiss her, but shook his head and walked back over to the door. He opened it and walked out of her room.

**A/N; another chapter updated! I am on a roll this week! Anyway, next time,**

**Kuro is now in the infirmary after losing his fight. He is now really mad and refuses to see anyone. Aiko gives up on trying to talk to him and leaves to then find out that Rai had won. Aiko is now worried about Kuro, but is then concerned about who will be training her after the finally battle was fought. Who will train her during the rest period?**

**See you next time in,**

**Chapter 9: A New Sensei**


	9. Chapter 9: who my heart points to

**Her Fate In My Hands**

**A/N: Last time; Kabuto is now worried not only about Aiko's life, but his as well now that Orochimaru doesn't want him seeing her again. Now Kuro has lost his match and doesn't want to leave his friends as they enter the next part of the exam.**

**This chapter was hard to write so it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do with it. I wrote it at least four times and I like it this way so what I originally planned is not in this chapter.**

**Chapter 9: Who My Heart Points Too**

"Dammit!" Kuro shouted into his pillow. He had been knocked out for the past two hours and had just learned from his nurse that he had lost his match. He took his face out of his pillow and sat on the edge of the bed, placing the pillow on his lap. "How could I have lost!" He heard a light knock on his door and the heard it open slightly. He looked over and saw his nurse poke her head into the room.

"Your friend Rai has requested to talk to you," she said.

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now," Kuro hissed. "You can tell Rai that I'll talk to him when I feel like it."

"He also has a friend with him that wishes to see you."

"Who is it?"

"Aiko," the nurse said. Kuro turned to face her. He nodded and she knew what he meant by it. She let Aiko in, but Rai had to remain outside the room. Rai wanted to know what Kuro had to say to her, so he pressed his ear against the door.

"Hi," Aiko said. "How are you feeling?"

"Horrible. I lost and now I can't continue through the exam with you and Rai. I want to go with you both, I really do, but now I can't. I was too weak to beat him."

"You weren't weak, Kuro...you just weren't at your best game today. That's all."

"It's still not enough. I had to be at my best through out this entire exam and now is the time I screw up. Now I can't protect you and Rai."

"We are capable of protecting ourselves, Kuro. We don't need you to kill people for us or to even make our enemies just back off. Yes, I regret that you can't come with us for the last part of the exam, but you don't need to be with us every moment of your life. There are other things in life besides looking over your friends."

"I can't think of anything more important than watching over the two of you. You're all I have and what if you die during the exam! I couldn't live with myself!"

"I assure you, I can handle everything on my own," Aiko said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Now, just get some rest and everything will be fine." She walked away from her friend, but then felt him grab her hand and pulled her into a hug. She stood there, her eyes wide in shock.

"I'm worried, Aiko...for your safety...and...well..."

"And what?" she asked him. He then made his lips touch hers and she was twice as shocked. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away from her. "Kuro, what the hell!" He just looked at her for a moment and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Aiko, but...I..." Kuro tried to get the words out the way he wanted to, but they wouldn't work with him. She gave him an angry, irritated look and then walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Rai followed after his friend.

"What happened in there?" he asked. She stopped walking and crossed her arms.

"Kuro kissed me. It just came out of nowhere!" she shouted.

"He did?"

"Yeah and it was unwanted."

"I can tell by how angry you are. Why are you mad about it though? He loves you, Aiko."

"I just realized that. At one time I liked him too, but after he started to treat me like a child I didn't like him anymore."

"Is there someone new in your life, Aiko?" He wanted to get an answer out of his friend, to see if she liked Kabuto more that she led on.

"I...I don't know," she said slowly. "I just don't know right now. My feelings for him are mixed..."

"But you do have feelings for him?"

"I'm not sure, Rai. Every time I talk to him my heart starts to race. I'm not sure if it's 'cause I like him or it could be that I'm scared."

"Scared?"

"Well, he used to be a opponent of ours in the exam so, of course, I would be scared of him! He could have killed me at anytime."

"He had plenty of chances."

"I know."

"And you're still here aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, your feelings may be a little messed up, but maybe he could be the one having feeling for you."

"I don't know."

"Think about it. All that he's said, all that he's done, and you are still alive. He isn't on our team and he saved you a few times." Rai placed his hands on his friends friend's shoulders and made her face him. "Also, Kuro feels the same way about you that Kabuto might. Who does your heart point to?"

"I'm not sure," Aiko said, looking down at the ground.

"Well, I bet whomever you may like I will stick by you one hundred percent. If it is Kabuto or that knucklehead of a friend of ours." Aiko smiled a little and then turned away from Rai. He smiled back and followed her down the hallway.

- - - - - - - -

Kabuto sat on the railing of the balcony of Aiko's room. He reached into his pocket and pulled out her card. He remembers telling Orochimaru that her card was almost completely blank, but it was actually loaded with her information. It had everything from teammates to sensei's. He signed and put the card back with the others. He had to remember that, later, he would have to take the card out of his pocket into a different place for Orochimaru has requested to see all of the cards later that evening. Kabuto thought he had sent his friend to her own death. Blaming himself, he tried his hardest not to try and find her. Not only was his own life in danger now, but Aiko's was as well. Orochimaru wanted her inner demon and to do that he would have had to kill Aiko anyway. Her inner demon would then have no struggle for control over the body and take over. A smile then took place of his frown, thinking about how Kuro had lost. Kabuto had seen Kuro's fight and was happy he was no longer in the way. He then thought for a moment and asked himself why he was happy Kuro was out of the way. He was now confused. Was it because Kuro loved Aiko? He was now questioning his own feelings for her. He couldn't like his target or else Orochimaru would kill him, but then again he would have to watch Aiko's death. He looked up at the sky.

"What do I have to do to make this all stop?" he asked himself.

"Make what stop?" He turned his head quickly to see Aiko standing behind him. He jumped off of the railing and stood in front of her.

"Heh, nothing. Just thinking about something."

"Okay. Why are you here? You should be on your way home since you're no longer in the exam." Kabuto rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, laughing slightly.

"I just wanted to see ya again, Aiko." She smiled.

"I'm flattered."

"I heard your friend Kuro lost his match. I'm sorry about that."

"He is upset about losing, but he only wanted to win to protect Rai and myself. I told him I was capable of protecting myself."

"You are."

"He thinks I need his help to kill people when I don't. I am, actually, kind of glad he isn't in the exam because now he can't treat me like a child and hold my hand through everything."

"But he's your friend."

"I know, but still..." Aiko walked over to her bed and sat on the edge. "If you knew him like Rai and I do you would see how much of a jerk he is. I know he means well, but he thinks he is responsible for everyone and everything around him and will do anything to protect it. At first, I was happy that he wanted to protect me, but now I am just tired of it." Kabuto sighed and sat next to her on her bed and hugged her.

"I'm sorry that you have been through so much and I was unable to help."

"This has gone on for years, so there was nothing you could have done."

"I can help you now...can't I?" he asked. She looked up at him and smiled with a small nod. He smiled back and put his hand on the back of her neck, still holding her in a hug with his other arm. He brought her into a kiss and she wrapped her arms around him. He ran his fingers through her long hair and she slightly tightened her hug. His hand ran down her side and onto her hip, but his eyes then shot open. He felt Orochimaru coming to find him. He let go of her and ran over to the balcony.

"Where are you going?" she asked, chasing after him.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go," he said. "I'll be back to check on you soon."

"Kabuto, what is going on. You've been acting weird."

"There is something out there, in the exam. All I can tell you right now is to stay safe." He kissed her on the forehead and leaped off of the balcony. She looked over the rail and saw that Kabuto was gone. She walked back into her room and closed the doors to her balcony, locking them as well.

"_What was he talking about?" _she thought. She then smiled, thinking that she had finally figured out who her heart was pointing to...Kabuto...

**_A/N: _Kabuto and Aiko had shown their feelings for each other to one another. Aiko is then sent to see her new sensei and Kabuto is trying to watch over her so she doesn't get hurt by Orochimaru, but when Kuro sees Kabuto following Aiko on her way home at night, he decides to take action.**

**Chapter 10: Fighting For Her Love**


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